Say “Hybrid” and what most often comes to mind is a vanilla-flavoured commuter with plenty in the way of fuel savings but little in the way of sexy sizzle.

That might have been the case in the early days of the technology a decade ago, but all one needs to do is look into the design studios of the world’s performance automakers to see that hybrids have made the leap into the sports car and even the supercar world.

Here’s a look at some examples

Hybrid with turbo four-cylinder
A few powertrain details have been leaked about one of the most highly anticipated future cars: The joint hybrid sports car project from BMW and Toyota.

The hybrid car will be the successor to the Z4 roadster and is said to revive the legendary Supra name and reportedly will be powered by BMW’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine.

Toyota will join in by developing new, cutting-edge hybrid technology, the report says. BMW is also said to be supplying the transmission and will apply its new expertise in using carbon fibre reinforced plastic (as used in the i8 and i3 plug-in hybrids).

Darth Vader, your hybrid is ready

Cool things happen when manufacturers set out to build something just to see if they can.

Volkswagen AG has demonstrated this concept before with the Bugatti Veyron, but every bit as impressive (and as outrageously priced) as the Veyron is the Volkswagen XL1. And the best thing about this car is that it’s not just a concept.

It’s small, but it’s also dramatic — the front bumper is shin height and the roof comes up to a tall man’s belt buckle.

The car is underpinned by a carbon monocoque structure with carbon fibre-intensive construction, resulting in a shockingly low curb weight of 794 kg.

Well-executed detailing is everywhere in this coupe and the XL1 looks both futuristic and purposeful.

While this makes for double-digit horsepower, it delivers fuel economy to the tune of 100 kilometres on one litre of fuel.

One of the greatest things about the XL1 is that it’s a real car that can be purchased. Volkswagen is only making 250 XL1s, so don’t expect them to be cheap.

Pricing information is scarce, but rest assured that even with the stellar fuel economy, you’ll spend the next eon amortizing its initial cost. There are also no plans to bring the XL1 to North America, so it will remain a Europe-only offering for now.

While this Bugatti Veyron Rembrandt Edition certainly isn’t a hybrid, reports indicate the supercar maker is developing a hybrid-powered vehicle.

Bugatti big on hybrid tech

Speaking of the Veyron, Bugatti may be jumping on the hybrid bandwagon with its next car.

The Veyron successor is rumoured to have a hybrid system matched to a 16-cylinder engine that will help it surpass the Veyron’s 1200-horsepower rating, reportedly an astounding 1500 hp.

“The new model will not be less exciting than the Veyron,” an unnamed spokeswoman told Reuters. “Our customers have certain expectations.”

Bugatti will reportedly make only 450 units of its new hyper hybrid, which seems optimistic seeing as the automaker, which is owned by Volkswagen, actually loses money on each $1.6-million Veyron and had trouble selling all the units manufactured.

The spokeswoman did say, however, that 430 of the planned 450 hybrid models have already been sold.

Porsche has spilled the beans on its plans for the next three years, consisting of two main components: Lots of horsepower, and lots of hybrids.

According to a recent report, we can expect plug-in hybrid technology from the 918 Spyder to trickle down into the 911 Turbo S and Panamera Turbo S, translating to a horsepower boost into the neighbourhood of 700 horsepower.

In addition, the Cayenne Turbo S is also expected to see a similar hybrid option. All three vehicles will be tagged with the e-Hybrid badge, like the 918 Spyder, though it’s unclear if those models will outright replace the Turbo S versions as the flagship performance models.

As for the Cayenne, a “coupe” variant in the said to be in the pipeline, and Porsche is still on track to launch it as the Cayenne Sport Turismo, offered initially in e-Hybrid form and with less powerful (and less expensive) variants to follow.

A Sport Turismo version is also in the cards for the Panamera, which is expected to account for 20 per cent of total sales.

If it sees the light of day, the Panamera Sport Turismo will be pegged as a competitor to the likes of the Audi A7, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe and the Mercedes-Benz CLS.

In addition, Porsche is also expected to shoehorn a plug-in hybrid powertrain into the Panamera S.

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